by Aline Riva
She shook her head.
“I saw nothing,” she said.
Jekel gave a sob, this time out of anger and frustration. The realisation of what had just happened had not terrified him the way he had expected, instead he felt nothing but fury.
“That was my wire...the burn out..I am NOT ready to die!” he said bitterly as he drew in a shaken breath and focussed on her face, “Don't let me die, Violet – I still have a life, I'm not ready to leave it yet!”
“Shh,” she said softly as she cradled him in her arms and stroked his hair as she held him in the shadowed corner of the tunnel, “Just hold on, Ash...hold on...”
Flashing his old pass at the guards on the ground level had been simple, Kade had been straight through the sparse security on the ground because most had been concentrated on the actual city in the wake of the bombings, and then he had taken the elevator all the way to the top, feeling sure as he counted the floors that the numbers flashing from 0-20 reassured him that the UNA had done a good job and he wasn't likely to get stuck between floors – the elevators had been kept in working order when the City Guard had taken over, as a quick way to the top to grab the spare emergency sky birds in the event of a disaster or need for extra back up.
As he neared the top he hoped he had chosen the right rooftop, then he remembered the paramedic sky bird was bright yellow, while the regular military copters were grey, so he knew he had not made a mistake.
The climb stopped and the doors opened. Kade stepped out on to the rooftop, looked to the sky bird and smiled as he looked to the emergency craft designed back in the day for the wounded human UNA personnel in times of conflict.
“Just me and a lady of the skies,” he said as he walked towards it, “Tonight we dance by fading starlight to greet the dawn, my little canary...”
As the last shot was fired and Flynn saw the last of their attackers fall amid the rubble and the shattered ruins, Joy looked to the hole that led through to the old tailor's shop – some rubble had been blasted through from the second grenade, but aside from small pieces of debris that littered the floor, the place looked like a time capsule as the shop dummies stood frozen as they posed in suits she felt sure Ash would have loved to have worn – her certainly would have admired them on passing, even though he had been abducted...Where was he?
“Ash?” she called out, stepping through to the tailor's shop.
“I'll check out the back,” she heard Flynn say, then he made his way over the rubble and the felled bodies and opened up a door that led to a narrow passageway.
Suddenly as Joy turned towards a stairway behind the counter that led upwards, an oil lamp turned on, throwing a soft glow up one wall, illuminating the man who stood beside a table where the lamp was set, he was tall and his dark hair shaded cold, pale eyes that fixed her icily as he pulled down a silken scarf that had been covering his nose and mouth as the brick dust had filled the place following the explosions.
“You can kill as many of us as you wish,” he said in a polished voice, “But there will always be more of us, you can be certain of that.”
Joy backed off, her hand poised to raise her weapon – if only she got the chance, because his gun was already trained on her, as was the gun of the female who now stood beside him.
“Who are you?” the woman demanded.
“Mrs Joy Jekel,” she replied fiercely, “And you fucked with the wrong person, sweetheart!”
The man stepped closer as Joy backed off, now she was closer to the wall and he was in the middle of the shop, standing amid shop dummies in their fine suits as he stood there in his dust-peppered clothing with his gun aimed at her steadily.
“I'm going to enjoy killing you,” he said, “Before you die, know that I'm Jet Madison and my recruits run throughout this city...your people killed my main core, but not all of my army! Now, you have a choice...I like your style. Join me...This is your only chance, Mrs Joy Jekel.”
As his eyes glittered darkly he didn't think to look behind him, nor did he see Flynn snap Jasmine's neck and carefully slide her body to the floor. The building was creaking and groaning in protest at the force of the explosions and in the distance there came the rumble of vehicles and approaching sirens – the City Guard had been alerted to the explosions. Jet was oblivious to it all as he looked intently at Joy.
“If you join us,” he said, “I might even let your husband live...”
“My husband is dying and I'm going to find him before it's too late,” she vowed, “And as for me joining you? I think you should ask my friend about that.”
Confusion filled Jet's eyes.
“What friend?”
Suddenly Joy was smiling in triumph.
“The one who just killed your girlfriend,” she replied.
Jet spun around as Flynn opened fire, hitting him in the face with several rounds as the force of the shots propelled him backwards, knocking him off his feet as a final shot hit him square in the chest and he fell heavily to the floor, his face a mask of blasted flesh and bone as blood began to pool on the floor beneath him.
As Flynn lowered his smoking gun he looked from the body of Jet Madison as he spoke again, gesturing towards the way back out of the cafe.
“This way, Joy – I've found Jekel. He's out in the main tunnel!”
Chapter 10 : The Condemned Man
As Joy let Flynn lead the way and she dashed after him, clearing rubble and chaos as in the distance sirens drew nearer, her heart was racing and all her fears tightened her throat as they made for the passageway, ran down it, then came out into the main tunnel, where a short distance away, the outside world could be seen, the rubble and ruins on the outskirts of the city looking like a charcoal sketch against a night sky about to give way to the coming of first dawn light.
As she saw Jekel on the ground, his eyes closed and a tearful young woman cradling him, she saw he was still breathing and felt thankful at least to know her husband was still alive, even though as she said his name he did not respond.
“I looked after him,” the girl said, “But he just collapsed...he said there was this white flash,.... he thought it was a bomb...then he said it was his wire burning out...” she gave a sob, “I tried to save him!”
“And he's still alive,” Joy promised her, “Come on, help me get him up...you're coming with us, Violet.”
Violet said no more, helping Joy to raise Jekel from the ground, and the two of them half carried him as they made for the tunnel mouth as Flynn ran on ahead, then they cleared the tunnel and stepped out into a dark morning where daybreak was fighting to break through, in the distance they saw the approaching City Guard and the speeding vehicles, security was on the way and Joy knew at a glance they were out numbered.
“Where the hell is the cavalry?” demanded Flynn.
And with a thunderous roar of engines and whirr of powerful blades, the bright yellow military helicopter swooped down, hovering low to the ground with the door open.
“Hurry up!” Kade yelled above the sound of the sky bird, and they dashed towards the open door, Joy in first, then she pulled Jekel inside as Violet joined her. The vehicles were screeching to a halt and the City Guard were armed to the teeth. Flynn brandished his gun for a brief moment as the sky bird raised a fraction, ready to defend those on board. Then Riley's words ran through his mind that not a single shot must be fired or this could start a war, and he lowered his gun and threw himself into the helicopter as Joy slammed the door shut behind him.
Bullets from the ground bounced off the reinforced glass and the sky bird shot up into the air, heading high above the city and gathering speed as in the last gasp of dusk, searchlights crossed the skies left and right over the city and Kade gripped the controls and got ready for one hell of a ride back home.
As the sky bird rose above the search lights then dipped to avid another and rose again, the motion was graceful but rapid and it took Joy and Flynn's efforts together to lay Jekel on to a stretcher and strap him in. As the h
elicopter veered sharply to the right Joy threw herself into the seat next to the secured stretcher and slammed her belt buckle into place.
“Sit tight,” she said, looking to Flynn, who grabbed a seat beside Violet and strapped himself in just as the sky bird dodged a missile and shifted roughly to the right, then the left, then rose up, dodging another one.
“Oh no you don't!” said Kade as he avoided powerful shots from the ground as he neared the gates and the end of the bumpy crossing, “You fucker! No you don't do that to my canary!”
And he pushed the sky bird into a steep climb as Violet felt her stomach lurch and she clutched at the arm rests of her seat, closing her eyes as the climb went on and on.
“Ha! Missed me!” Kade yelled, “Try it again, shoot me again...oh you just did ...”
He slammed the helicopter left, then right, then went into a speedy dive, climbing up once more to clear another search light and more weapons fired from the ground.
“Ha Ha!” he laughed in jubilation as he jabbed a middle finger in the air and looked back at the city now in the distance, “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on...Ooh, my Mum would kill me if she heard me talking like that! She might kill me anyway if she finds out I stole a canary...” then he laughed again.
“In all the time I've known you, Kade,” said Flynn as the helicopter sped through the skies, now at a straight and even pace, “I've never seen you in action. And it's just occurred to me that underneath all that charm and desperation to be up there on the stage and be the next Ash Jekel, you're actually bat shit crazy!”
Amusement danced in his eyes.
“Only when you put me in charge of one of these machines! King of the skies, that's me! I'm keeping this sky bird, she's a beauty!”
And as he flew on chatting happily to Flynn about his pride in his piloting skills, Joy was turned to Jekel's side as she switched on a monitor above him and saw the read out from his electronic and human functions. She said nothing as she studied it, then she took hold of his hand and kissed the back of it and pressed his hand to her cheek.
“It's okay, Ash,” she whispered, “We're going home.”
As Violet looked on, understanding nothing of the read out and clinging to the arm rests of her seat because the ride out of Freedom's airspace had been hell, Kade flew onwards, passing a strip of road far below where he spotted the motor home and Elise sped on, flashing her headlights in acknowledgement. Flynn was still chatting casually to Kade as they sped through the skies towards Sanctuary, and no one yet knew what Joy understood:
The read out had confirmed Jekel's failing power line had just burned out, leaving the compromised wiring short of the extra power it had depended on - leaving Jekel back in a deep coma, now with no hope of recovery...
Josh began his morning feeling uneasy as he went into his office where his desk was waiting along with the view of a city rebuilt that he once thought of as his kingdom. Far in the distance he could see the vehicles parked in the smoking ruins of old Bell Street, where his City Guard were clearing out the bodies of the terror cell known as End Cyborg Life. It was an unsettling feeling to know that someone had come into his city and rooted out the people his own security could not find. They had just secured the city for him, and he knew there would be a price for this service...
Then without warning, his monitor jumped to life. Static sparkled and cleared, and he sat down at a his desk heavily, looking into the rather smug face of King Steel.
“I hear Ashley Jekel is on his way back from Freedom,” said Riley, “My people went in and got him out this morning.”
“Your people!” Josh said bitterly, knowing his worst fears had been confirmed.
Then Riley's smug look was gone.
“From what I hear Jekel is in a bad way. Not the fault of your City, I hold no grudge against its people – but I do blame you and the majority of your ruling circle! If you'd stopped this anti cyborg shit years ago we wouldn't have had a hostage situation, where are your balls, Premier?”
Josh felt his face flush as he considered all that had gone terribly wrong since his bad, bad decision to use Lynch as a political chess piece.
“Thank you for removing the terrorist threat,” he said quietly.
“You think they're gone?” Lynch exclaimed, “Oh no, you stupid prick...heaven help the people who voted you as a leader - WAKE UP! It's a them and us mentality. It's about hatred and prejudice and it's going to take more than one generation to die out! There will always be lunatics spawned from your city who take up the anti cyborg stance. You have to crack down on it now, Premier – keep on cracking down on it or you'll have more bombings in your own city because fanatics don't forget - and this shit will go on for decades!”
“I...I thought you might want to hear my offer on Lynch...on his release,” Josh said quietly, feeling small in the presence of a leader like Blake Riley, who clearly had earned his title of King because he deserved it...
“A full pardon and immediate release would be acceptable,” said Riley, “In light of the fact that my people cleaned the shit from your streets this morning!”
Josh felt his anger rising and made a choice to use his power to remind Riley he was still the Premier of Freedom City.
“We have to please everyone.”
“No we don't. We please the majority who want him home. Fuck the minority of haters and backward thinkers, they don't belong in this society, grow a pair, Premier!”
Josh ignored his insult, gathering his thoughts on the matter then looking into the camera as he made his terms clear:
“General Lynch will be freed and returned to Cyborg Valley in return for the payment of a fine to the equivalent of twenty million in old world cash. And no, we don't want a shipment of androids, Riley. We want useable, valuable trade goods. Gold, for example...that would be acceptable...anything of extremely high value that its universally accepted as a payment.”
Riley stared back at him through the screen.
“You know that's not possible!”
“And I shouldn't even be making this offer now – I should be doing this one hour before the execution is due to take place but I'm giving you advance notice of this offer. Take it or leave it, Riley. That's my recommendation when the last part of the appeal is carried through.”
Then he switched off the screen, thankful to see the monitor dark as he thought about the situation and wondered how he had ever made such a horrible mess of being Premier and running the city and handling a role he once believed he had been born to take on.
By the time the sky bird had landed and Jekel had been rushed to the med centre, Joy had gone back to the mansion where she showered, changed her clothes, looked into a mirror that reflected eyes filled with pain as she added a touch of make up and made herself look like the same mother her son always woke up to each day. Then she spoken with Melissa and Dorian quietly, no longer alarmed by the fact that Dorian had just come out of her daughter's bedroom and they both carried a faint trace of the smell of Howler about them. It would take some getting used to – but clearly, Melissa no longer smelled it because she was used to it, because she was that close to him all the time...Joy quietly accepted it, remembering his blue blood and the fact that he was a good man and at the end of the day, Melissa was in love. And love was something to hold on to because she knew how it felt to have it slip away...
Then Joy woke her son and broke the news that his father was in a coma, and she held him as he wept as she thought of the fight they had taken on to bring her husband home – at least Travis would never know of the ordeal his father had been through, and that was the only positive outcome of all that had happened...
“What do you want to do, Joy?”
As Riley asked that question, she had heard him but was too busy looking at her husband as he lay there seemingly fast asleep, to give an answer. Joy had left Travis with Melissa and Dorian and come back to his bedside alone, and now Riley had confirmed all that she had known since the flight back
to the Valley, she found even composing her thoughts enough to speak in reply to be an effort as her heart weighed down with sorrow.
“About what?” she said quietly, and studied Jekel's face as she ran her hand over his hair, as if wishing that touch could somehow turn miraculous and wake him.
Riley's mind was filled with thoughts of Lynch and the Premier's crazy deal that seemed impossible to meet, along with grief for his best friend even though Ash was not yet gone.
“I was thinking maybe you should make some kind of announcement...I mean, the festival's just around the corner and -”
“No,” she said firmly, “I'm not giving up yet!”
Riley looked to his best friend, who lay motionless save for the rise and fall of his chest, then he met her gaze once more and the look in his eyes was one of deep loss.
“Ashley said to me that if nothing more could be done for him he wanted me to let him go. Right now he's running on his remaining power systems. That could last out for years. In that time, who knows? I might be able to come up with something but as things stand now, I don't have any more aces up my sleeve. He's not going to wake up and suddenly be okay. This is permanent.”
“Permanent for now, that could change -”
“Joy, listen to me, please...He's alive, yes. But as soon as that power line fried, he lost thirty percent of the original wring that used to depend on the booster cable. That's the worst case scenario. I did fix him and he had almost ten years with us. Now he's back where he was when he first fell from the tower. I was hoping the outcome wouldn't be as bad as this – maybe it would have been better if not for that stun gun shot. I can't tell. I'll never know.”
“I don't want the world to know yet,” Joy replied quietly, “I think we should keep him here for a few days just to be sure -”
“I AM bloody sure!” Riley blinked away tears that glazed his eyes.
